Untended selection of goods is increasingly popular with consumers. From petroleum to food products, purchasers appreciate the immediate satisfaction and lowered cost provided by self-service. Many convenience stores and restaurants provide cafeteria line or serve-yourself type vending of prepared food, often for take-out or on-the-road consumption. Beverages dispensed from a fountain are typically served in paper or plastic cups, which, to prevent spilling, are provided with molded plastic lids. These lids have a resilient flange which snaps into engagement with a bead formed in the lip of the beverage container. Individual cup dispensers have long been available which permit the removal of a single cup without contamination or disturbance of the remaining supply. Container lids, however, differ from cups in that no deep graspable surface is provided.
In order to prevent unnecessary handling of the lid supply, especially where multiple users are drawing on the supply, a dispenser should isolate the supply of lids from the single lid dispensed. Furthermore, to reduce litter and waste, it is desirable that a dispenser dispense only one lid at a time, a goal complicated by the fact that the resilient plastic lids have a tendency to stick together.
In my prior U.S. Pat. No. 5,383,571, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein, I disclosed a convenient, universal lid dispenser which was adjustable to suit most thermoformed lids in common use. Nonetheless, harried users of dispensing equipment prefer a unit which can be rapidly configured to different size lids without the need for tools.
What is needed is a compact lid dispenser which repeatably dispenses single lids from a supply which is shielded from casual contact with users and which is quick and easy to adjust for different size lids.